Sell Your iPhone 1.0 while you still can, still hot items on eBay and Craigslist
By Justin Montgomery
For those who wish to subsidize the cost of a new iPhone 3G can rejoice in the fact that the first generation iPhone is still a hot item on both eBay and Craigslist. With an average price of $375 to over $600, you could more than make up the cost for that shiny new device you want so badly, by selling your old one.
"I just got the new 3G iPhone, so I’m selling my old one," said a seller wanting $350 for a slightly scratched 8-gigabyte first-generation iPhone listed for sale on Craigslist this week. It’s not an uncommon situation either, but what most people would ask, including myself, is why would someone buy a first-gen iPhone for upwards of 3-400 hundred dollars when they can pay $199 for a much faster and feature-filled iPhone 3G?
According to the Houston Chronicle, the reason lies with the new higher-priced data-plans from AT&T accompanying the 3G iPhone. Do the math, and you’ll realize it costs $360 more over two years than the plan offered to iPhone 1.0 users. So, the actual cost of a new iPhone starts at $560, rather than $199 which people see at first.
The real profit comes with jailbroken 1.0 iPhones that can be resold overseas where they’re not yet available. Smart resellers have picked up on the idea and are making a business out of it. The resellers are paying upwards of $300 for used iPhones, using their jailbraking magic, and then reselling the iPhones for profit to people who want iPhones but don’t want to make the switch to AT&T.
Another area where people are profiting handsomely are on eBay where you can offer international shipping. In countries that are yet to be offered the iPhone through traditional channels are opting to pay a bit more to get a US-version. Sellers on eBay are fetching upwards of $600 for unlocked iPhones. Since hackers have yet to jailbreak the iPhone 3G, the first-gen is still a hot commodity.
When the 3G does get unlocked however, the demand and the subsequent pricing will drop considerably, so if you’re stashing your iPhone 1.0 away, you better wipe the dust off and get it sold while you still can.
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